Karl O'Donnell, Count of Tyrconnel (1715–1771) held important commands in the Austrian army during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. Between 1768 and 1770, he was governor of

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Biography

O'Donnell held important commands during the

Third Silesian War The Third Silesian War () was a war between Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia and Archduchy of Austria, Austria (together with its allies) that lasted from 1756 to 1763 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Po ...

between Prussia and Austria, during the

, up to the rank of general. He distinguished himself in the Battles of Lobositz (1756), Prague (1757) and Kolin (1757). He was wounded and taken prisoner in the

Battle of Leuthen The Battle of Leuthen was fought on 5 December 1757 and involved Frederick the Great's Prussian Army using maneuver warfare and terrain to rout a larger Austrian force completely, which was commanded by Prince Charles of Lorraine and Coun ...

. Released in 1758, he participated in the

Battle of Hochkirch The Battle of Hochkirch took place on 14 October 1758, during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). After several weeks of maneuvering for position, an Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by Lieutenant Field Marshal Leopold Jo ...

and

Battle of Maxen The Battle of Maxen (20 November 1759) was a battle at Maxen, in the Electorate of Saxony during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). It resulted in surrender of a Prussian corps. The Prussian corps of 14,000 men, commanded by ...

, amongst others.
His greatest military performance was in the

Battle of Torgau In the Battle of Torgau on 3 November 1760, King Frederick the Great's Prussian army fought an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Leopold Josef Graf Daun. The Prussians won a costly victory in one of the bloodiest battles of the Thir ...

(1760), where he repelled an attack from the numerically superior enemy cavalry and took over the command for the wounded field marshal Graf Daun, which he held until the winter of 1760. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa for his achievements in this battle.BLKÖ:O’Donnell, Karl Graf
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Family

O'Donnell was a descendant of the Irish noble dynasty of

O'Donnell of Tyrconnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions Or ...

who left Ireland after the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

and settled in Austria.

Descendants

A descendant

Maximilian Karl Lamoral O'Donnell Maximilian Karl Lamoral Graf O’Donnell von Tyrconnell (29 October 1812 — 14 July 1895) was an Austrian officer and civil servant who became famous when he helped save the life of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria. O'Donnell was a descendant of ...

was a notable figure in the history of the Italian and Hungarian campaigns of 1848 and 1849, and achieved fame for helping to save the life of Emperor Franz Josef I during an assassination attempt in 1853. Henry Joseph O'Donnell, Count of La Bisbal (1769–1834) was from another branch of the family, a member of the Irish noble dynasty of

who left Ireland after the

; he was a general in the Spanish Army during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

References

;Attribution * 1715 births 1771 deaths Counts of the Holy Roman Empire Austrian people of Irish descent Wild Geese (soldiers)

Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa {{Austria-noble-stub